An 11-year adventure

 

By Ryan Jones

A local author shared her new book with family, friends and supporters over the weekend.

Last Friday, Feb. 23, Veronique Mandal read aloud from her novel, Getting Off: A Criminal Lawyer’s Road To Redemption, at Eatery 101 located in St. Clair College’s main campus, 2000 Talbot Rd. W. With the book 11 years in the making, Mandal released her novel  Dec. 7, 2017.

The book is a biography of Don Tait who was a headline-grabbing Windsor lawyer, known for defending difficult cases. Mandal writes about how his success was affected by his battle with alcohol and drugs. Mandal and Tate met in Costa Rica.

“I said, ‘If you ever survive this and you’d allow a biography about your life, give me a call.’ And so, that was the end of it,” said Mandal.

Five years later, Tate gave Mandal a call, setting the book in motion. Mandal said he wanted to share his experience with rehab and addiction to provide truth on the matter.

Peter Hrastovec is a lawyer and supporter of Mandal’s novel and said “it is a fascinating read.”

Mandal said her favourite part about writing the book was self-discovery.

“As a reporter, having the opportunity to track down this fugitive and then be able to continue following his life the way I was able to do for that decade, I went through trauma of my own. And all the spiritual things he talked about in his redemption years really had an impact on me,” said Mandal.

Mandal said about 2000 copies have been sold through Amazon and Windsor-Essex bookstore platforms – 5000 copies sold makes for a Canadian bestseller.

Mandal, a local journalist and professor said she is currently working on a book of poetry, which is halfway complete. Prior to the Tait tale, her last published book was the fictional The Pink Hat. As a tip for writers, Mandal said people need to write everyday and to not let writers block get in the way.

“Never live a day without a word,” said Mandal.